Scuba diving

With the right training, experience, equipment and conditions, scuba diving in the UK and Ireland can be phenomenal. Our marine environment rivals some of the best in the world, offering a fascinating range of wrecks and wildlife for scuba divers around our coastlines to enjoy. As with any watersport, there are risks involved and we’re here to help you dive safely.

Photo: Shutterstock / Rich Carey

Understand the risks and dive safely

There were 50 scuba fatalities in UK waters between 2011 and 2015. Many could have been avoided through improved dive preparation, monitoring throughout the dive and personal diving skills.

Divers tend to be well educated about the risks of their sport but some push their limits too far, don’t take proper precautions and older divers are more at risk from underlying health conditions.

RNLI lifeboat crews were called out to 81 incidents involving divers in UK and Ireland waters during 2016. One rescue involved three all-weather lifeboats from The Lizard, Falmouth and Penlee, an RNAS Culdrose search and rescue helicopter and HMS Somerset after a dive boat reported one of its divers missing. Luckily the diver was wearing a personal locator beacon (PLB), which may have saved his life that day.

Trained abroad? Get advice for diving at home

If you learned to dive abroad and want to start diving at home, get advice from BSAC (British Sub Aqua Club), PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) or the Irish Underwater Council.

Three easy steps to checking your diving health

If you’re a diver aged 50 or over, check that you are fit to dive. You may be experienced and safety conscious, but the greatest risk you face is your body not being able to cope with the demands of diving. A medical emergency when you’re mid-dive could be fatal.

Step 1
Carry out a realistic and honest self-assessment of your health before diving.

If your health check reveals any medical concerns, contact an approved, registered diving doctor through the UK Diving Medical Committee. It's better to identify and deal with a problem in advance than to risk a complication mid-dive.

Don’t be afraid to say no to a dive if you have any concerns about your health, even if you’re just about to enter the water.

* Statistics taken from the BSAC Diving Incident Report 2013 for the incident year 1 October 2012 to 30 September 2013.

Keeping you safe

Here are ways we’re working to help you get the most out of scuba diving and keep you as safe as possible while enjoying your sport.

Understanding divers
We’ve been working with the British Diving Safety Group (BDSG) to better understand how and why people dive, what they know about the risks and what safety measures they take. Our research will help us produce targeted and relevant safety advice to help divers enjoy their sport as safely as possible.

Sea survival for divers
We’ve developed the RNLI Diver Sea Survival course in partnership with the BDSG. The aim of the course is to teach sea survival skills and refresh pertinent diving skills to help scuba divers dive safely.

Scuba health roadshow
We’re also organising a scuba health roadshow in partnership with the DDRC (Diving Disease Research Centre). By asking divers about their health, we hope to get an overall picture of the diving population’s cardiac health in the UK and Ireland.

Figures taken from:

The National Water Safety Forum's Water Incident Database (WAID) 2010-13.

The BSAC Diving Incident Report 2015 for the incident year 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2015.